The Meece's Down Under

We are home.

2008-11-12T02:55:00.002+11:00

We arrived home on Tuesday night about 7pm. We were greeted by neighbors, family and friends. They had not only prepared the house so we could go right to sleep but also filled the refrigerator and pantry with food. That was a very welcomed surprise. All 4 of us woke up at 1:30 am hungry and it was so nice to have food.

We got the Internet and phones up on Wednesday. John's birthday was Thursday and we spent it looking for a vehicle. John purchased one on Friday. Our friends, Barb and Don came up on Thursday night and spent the weekend with us. It was so nice to see them.

We have been unpacking and visiting. Kait and Sam started school yesterday, Monday. They were happy to see their friends. They took TimTams and Vegemite to share with everyone.

Basketball and swimming practice starts tonight as well as John's band practice. So far I have resisted committing to anything. One week down the rest of my life to go!

I tried to put pictures up with our house and the fall leaves but it would not let me load them. I will have to check into that further.

Going Up Over

2008-11-02T22:20:00.002+11:00

The movers arrive in the morning and the computers will turned off and packed up. So this is my last blog as an expat. It will be later in the week before we get the computers/Internet up. Goodbye for now. We will be home on Tuesday night.

St. Francis Xavier-Last Day

2008-10-31T21:01:00.004+11:00

We had our last coffee at Litani's today. I have met some wonderfully amazing women whom have become good friends. It was sad to say goodbye.

At the Friday Morning assembly, the school had a very nice farewell presentation. Kait and Sam have made many friends and were sad to say goodbye. They will have many great memories of their year here.

Dinner with Edwards

2008-10-31T20:15:00.003+11:00

On Thursday Night we had a farewell dinner with Pete, Jenny, Clare and Mathison Edwards. We will miss them. We got to know them 10 years ago when they were in Ohio. It has been wonderful to renew our friendship with them and hope we can get together again--maybe in 10 years?

Farewell Party--Helen's Family

2008-10-29T21:44:00.003+11:00

We were given a farewell party at Alistair and Sue home in Towradgi, last Sunday. We had a great time visiting over lunch and enjoyed reminiscing about the past year. We met Helen's family last Christmas, and have visited with them throughout the year at family events that we were included on. We have had several Sunday lunch's at Sue and Alistair--always including a game of scrabble. We will miss them as they have welcomed us into their family this past year.

Helen's family: Sisters: Sue, Tricia, Shelley, Aunt Pat, Mother Betty, Alistair, Helen, Emma, Alex and Shaun.

We have only 5 days left in Australia and they are going fast. We leave early in the morning on the 4th of November and 29 hours later we will arrive in Napoleon in the evening of the 4th of November. Happy Melbourne Cup Day to our Australian friends and Happy Election Day to our American friends. Love to you all!

Going Away Party

2008-10-20T19:34:00.003+11:00

The Friday Coffee Group had a party to wish us farewell on Sunday. The BBQ was at Marie and Greg Vitnell's home. The kids had a great time swimming and jumping on the trampoline as the adults talked and shared some wine. We had a great time! And I forgot my camera--sorry.

Coming Home

2008-10-12T19:49:00.003+11:00

We will fly home on November 4th. That is in about 3 weeks. We will miss Australia, the great friends we have made and the wonderfully amazing year we have had--but there is no place like home! We look forward to seeing you all.

Kata Tjuta

2008-10-12T19:31:00.002+11:00

About 30 kilometers away is Kata Tjuta (means "many heads"), it is a group of 36 red rock domes that rise from the ground. The tallest is 546 meters. These rocks are conglomerate of lots of small rocks--like concrete.
We did the Valley of the Winds hike. It was very hilly, and pretty.
That night we had a special dinner--Sounds of Silence. We had dinner on a far away sand dune to see the sunset of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. After the sunset, we learned about the stars and the southern hemisphere night sky. We were able to look through powerful telescopes to see Jupiter and its moons, and an amazing close up of the moon. We met people from all over the world on this holiday. At dinner with us are two couples from England. We met others from Holland, Norway, China, France, and USA.

Uluru

2008-10-12T18:46:00.005+11:00

We drove to Uluru (Ayers Rock is the English name that is not really used). the first morning we were there we started out at 4am to see the sunrise.
We were with a group of people, for a bush tucker breakfast including damper,on a sand dune about 25 kilometers from Uluru.
Sam and Kait are looking for animal tracks in the red sand. They found lots of Goanna tracks--the 2 meter long lizard. We never did see a wild one but there were plenty around.
Back at Uluru we saw the ancient cave painting and learned about the dreamtime stories relating to the mammoth rock. The Aboriginals see Uluru as a sacred place and have been having religious ceremonies there for centuries. There were many places that we were not allowed to photograph. Tourism began in 1955, with only crude camping available. In 1983, a resort was opened. And in 1985 the property rights to Uluru was given back to the Aboriginal traditional owners. We had a very nice and modern 2 bedroom apartment to stay in. It was a marvel all of its own to see how a resort functioned and survived so far out in the desert. The first trip to Uluru from Alice Springs in 1873 took 3 months by camel.

Uluru is very large. It is a 10 kilometer walk just to go around the base. It stands 348 meters above ground and goes another 5 kilometers underground. So it is huge. From a distance it looks very smooth, but up close you can see grooves, caves and waterholes.

There is a visitors center (no photos allowed) were the Anangu from Mutitjulu and Yankunytjatjara sell artwork and artifacts and provide tours and educate us about their culture.

Hiking around Kings Canyon

2008-10-12T18:29:00.003+11:00

We head out early before it gets too hot to hike at Kings Canyon.
You could definately see the layers of the sandstone that formed the canyon.
Here is the canyon. It is definately not as large or spectacular as the Grand Canyon. But it is still stunning and beautiful.

2008-10-12T18:08:00.002+11:00

Then, we had the long, long drive to Kings Canyon. There was no speed limit so John maintained 140--that's KPH or about 86 mph. We were warned to watch for wild camels, kangaroos and emus. We did see a camel and cows.

This is our hotel in Kings Canyon--the only one for at least 200 kilometers. It was considered eco friendly with a small footprint. The room was very nice--with a sitting area in the back and a spa tub in a huge bay window.
This is our view out the window--The rocks were brilliant reds and oranges.

Alice Springs 2

2008-10-12T16:34:00.004+11:00

We were picked up early for our quad bike tour. We drove out to a cattle station that was 3000 square kilometers--a huge family farm!!!! We had to go on a dirt road for part of the trip. We rode the 4 wheelers for about 2.5 hours through the desert.
Here we are!! It was only the four of us and two tour guides.
John got this photo--I am getting instructions about going down the steep hill.

That is me at the bottom riding off! This was a definite highlight of out trip. We learned a lot about the cattle. They just let the cattle graze and only round them up once a year for market. The cattle only venture about 5 kilometers from water. So the station maintains 5 waterholes on the property. The cattle come everyday to the water. On the given day, they trap them and ship them out on a cattle train--which is really a large truck that holds 200 head at a time. Several trucks make the long trip to Darwin (1,500 kilometers away) for butchering. They use the quad bikes and helicopters to round up stray cattle --no horse riding cowboys here. The only predator the cows have is the dingo. The dog attacks the calves if they get separated.

Alice Springs

2008-10-12T15:08:00.003+11:00

We flew from Sydney to Alice Springs (4hrs). The Alice, is in the center of Australia. It is referred to as the Red Center as it is desert and very red sandy soil. The land was inhabited for 40,000 years by Aboriginals and was first visited by white men in the late 1800's. The town was set up as a single line telegraph station between Darwin(north) and Adelaide (south). the town is quite remote and has a population 25,000. We met many Americans as there is a military base communications base here, as well as many American tourists. The first night we went to a dinner to learn about aboriginal culture. We had Kangaroo, Emu and Crocodile for dinner. The men performed some of the traditional Aboriginal dances for us. We learned about the traditional tools, weapons and ways of life. It was very informative.
We hiked into the West McDonnel Ranges. Sam spotted a dingo on a dry river bed. And No--"the dingo did not eat my baby!"
We came to this surprise in the middle of the desert! Ellery's Big Hole was a very refreshing place to cool off. The kids swam and played in the water. It was 80 meters deep in the middle and quite cold. It was about 150 meters across-Sam swam it and was very surprised at the extreme cold in the middle.
We had a dinner planned where we were to ride a camel into the desert and have a bush tucker dinner. The camels are all lined up and tied in a row for our adventure. We are to ride tandem so Sam and I pair up. The guide chose Sam and I to mount first. The camels all sat down preparing for their "cargo." As Sam and I approach our camel, the guide says to just ignore her noises of protest--she is just a noisy camel--no worries mate! Sam put his foot in the stirrup and started to mount her and she started these horrific groaning noises. Sam is on and now it is my turn. The camel continued its loud protests. I got on the camel and now the camel has to stand up. In a very loud noisy way. The camel stands up with us leaning way back and then extreme forward as the camel gets completely upright. I am so happy to be in a normal sitting position and wait for the guide to adjust the stirrups as he promised. I notice all of the camels are beginning to get up with no passengers. Did you know camels don't like rain? Well, it started raining--in the desert--that is in extreme drought--I mean the worst drought in 50 years! And it rains as Sam and I are on a camel who does not like rain!! So all of the camels who are tied together--take off. I mean--stand up and start moving with out the guide fairly rapidly. I hear one of the other tourist yell--"Get the boy off of the camel!!!" The guide did get the lead camel and tie him to a fence. The remaining camels coiled around, with the camel Sam and I are on, in the center. So camels are all around us. Did I mention that when you sit on a camel you are really high off of the ground? No joke, we were 10 feet off of the ground. So we are high up surrounded by camels and a bit nervous. The guide quickly tied camel by camel to the fence with us being the last secured. He then had to get the camel to sit--which it did not want to do and protested quite loudly. Sam and I finally disembarked. The guide shared with John that he was worried we were going to be part of a camel race to the desert! He was obviously nervous. Needless to say --I do not care to get on another camel ever again. The tour ended abruptly for all and we had dinner in town. It took 3 Vodka tonics to get me to stop shaking. Sam, of course, was mad and wanted to go back and do it again!

Berrara Beach 2

2008-09-22T08:49:00.004+10:00

As we headed up the walk to our cabin, we had a big suprise.
The kangaroos were everywhere!
They were quite tame and friendly. Many of them had joeys in their pouches. Kait and Sam named one Greta and her joey is Nigel. Sara, Bob, Mike, Fred, George and Mo kept us entertained for hours.
This was the alpha male of the group. We was as tall as John! No joke! We always stayed at a distant and kept a careful watch on his family.

We are beginning our plans to come home. We are expecting to be home the first week of November. That is in only 6 weeks. We still have our Outback trip the first week of October. So, see you all soon!

Berrara Beach

2008-09-22T07:45:00.004+10:00

This weekend we went to Berrara Beach. We went south down the coast near a really small seaside village--Sussex Inlet. Upon recommendation from a family at school, we decided it sounded like the perfect place to celebrate our anniversary.
The are rooftops in the trees. The third one over was our "chalet." It was a very nice 2 bedroom modern cabin. We had a short walk down some steps to the beach.
The beach right in front was rock pools, but a short walk took us too a beautiful swimming beach.
After the kids got us up at 6:30 saying they were headed down to the beach and that they would see us later, we bolted up and joined them. We walked up and down the beach and checked it out. We had been told we would see kangaroos in our front yard in the morning so we were a bit dissappointed when there were none when we got up. We decided to get lunch before heading back to the beach for swim and sun.

Sam got 10th at MacKillop Trials!

2008-09-09T11:01:00.004+10:00

Sam earned the right to represent Wollongong Diocese in the shotput (9&10yrs) at the New South Wales Catholic Schools Athletics Event. The event was held Friday, 5 Sept. at the Blacktown Olympic Park, a suburb of Sydney. His mate, Alex Sheridan, came to cheer him on.

Sam was part of the opening ceremony which included a prayer and the National Anthem, Australia Fair. It had already started raining, so after a few short speaches and introductions the events started.
Sam and Alex tried to stay warm. It was a very windy, rainy and cold day. His black and red uniform was the Wollongong team clothing that he was able to keep.
Here is Sam throwing his heart out in the drenching rain. He started out with just his singlet and shorts on --but it was too cold! He threw with his jumper(jacket) and wind pants on. He has a t-shirt tucked in his pants to dry the ball. It was really wet as were we all. We are proud of Sam's achievements--10th in the NSW Catholic Schools (about 2oo schools divided into 7 regional dioceses).

Wollongong Diocese Athletics Trial

2008-08-19T13:20:00.006+10:00

Sam did it again! He got 1st place in the shot put at the Wollongong Diocese Athletics Meet. He improved his throw by over 1 meter. At regionals, he got 8.03 meters and today he was at 9.16 meters. Today, it was the best 8 kids out of 29 schools in the Wollongong Diocese. And he got 1st place! (can you tell we are a bit proud?)

He will go on to the New South Wales MacKillop Athletic Carnival --which is all Catholic Schools in New South Wales (our state, there are 7 states in Australia) on September 5th. He will represent the Wollongong Diocese and will get a Wollongong team uniform.

If he gets to go on, he will go to the New South Wales Primary Schools Sports Athletics Carnival (NWS PSSA) representing the Catholic school team: MacKillop Team, named for Mary Mackillop, who is in the process of becoming Australia's 1st saint.

Sorry no pictures, my photo did not turn out that great.

South Coast Athletics Trial

2008-08-18T10:37:00.002+10:00

Sam got 1st place in shot put when he represented St. Francis Xavier at the South Coast Athletics Trial.
He is #9. He threw the shotput 8.03 meters. That is 26ft 1 inch. The shot put is 2 kg or about 4.5 pounds.
He got a blue ribbon and a letter inviting him to participate in the Wollongong Diocese meet on Tuesday.
Sam and Alexandra. Alex gets to participate in the next level in 100m.

Sam turns 10!

2008-08-10T20:30:00.002+10:00

Sam's birthday was August 1st and we had his party on 08-08-08 at Hangdog an indoor climb venue in Wollongong. John, Sam and Kait were checking it out before everyone else arrived.
With parents belaying the kids climbed up really high. This is Sam on his way up.
That is Kait way up there showing no fear!
Sam is free climbing with no belayer.
Everyone takes a break for pizza, cake and icecream. Bronte and Kait are on the right and Isabel, Jackson, Sam, Brock and Alex are on the left. Liam and Rhys had to leave a bit early. They had an awesome time!

2008-08-02T16:09:00.002+10:00

Carolyn lost her front tooth in Australia!! She was determined it was going to come out while she was here. She wanted to find out if the Australian Tooth Fairy would bring Australian money. On Thursday, the last full day they were here--Carolyn lost her tooth! She was so happy!

We arrived back in Wollongong on Monday night. On Tuesday we went to Symbio Wildlife Park, so Carolyn could feed the kangaroos and pet the Koala's. Wednesday, we did the Southern Highlands. We went to a winery, saw Fitzroy Falls, Belmore Falls, Minnamurra Rainforest, and Kiama Blowhole. Thursday, we had breakfast on the beach and walked around the lighthouse. We had an early evening as we had to take them to the airport early on Friday morning. It was a tearful goodbye. It was so great to have the Moon's here. They are such great friends and it was awesome to share our Aussie experience with them.

2008-08-02T15:32:00.003+10:00

More photos from the disposable underwater cameras. We did find out that to get the brilliant colors that we see of the reef in the media, you need to dive at night with underwater lamp.
All of those "dashes" in the background are a school of fish.

The colors of the fish were so brilliant. A school of these blue and yellow ones swam up from behind Sam and I, they swam around us and then moved on into the distance. They were about 8 inches long.

The shapes, designs and colors of the coral was extremely varied.

Underwater--really down under!

2008-08-02T15:18:00.003+10:00

We bought some underwater cameras so we could record some of what we saw. The colors are not as vivid but it will give you an idea. This is Sam --he and I were buddies.
This is coral-look to the right and you can see a giant clam. It was about 2 feet long.
Double click on these to see fish and other things on the the reef.
The fish swam right up to us. Sam just reached out and petted them.

At the top, there are little yellow fish. Sorry I do not know the correct names --there were so many different types.

The Great Barrier Reef

2008-08-02T14:57:00.003+10:00

We took a boat from the resort out to the Great Barrier Reef on Saturday. On our way we saw lots of whales. They are hard to photograph but, if you double click on the photo you can see a whale blowing.
After about a 1 1/2 hour trip we arrived at the Reef. We parked along side this anchored platform called reefworld. We were given snorkle gear, wet suits and sent off to see what we could see. WOW! This was truly the highlight of the trip and absolutely amazing.

Here we are paddling around and looking at the reef. I tried to get photo of the brilliant turquoise blue colors of the reef. The colors don't show up well through the camera. It is something I will never forget--the intensity of the blues as far as I could see.
This is a photo of our trip home as the sun began to set. We have returned from the open sea and are back in the Whitsunday Island Group. Captain Cook discovered these Islands on the fifth Sunday after Easter--Pentacost or Whit-sunday in England. So he named them the Whitsunday Islands.

2008-08-02T14:20:00.002+10:00

Everynight, dinner had a different theme. One night we were to wear all white. Barb and I hatched a plan to wear our bed sheets as we did not have anything else to wear that met the theme. Kait and Carolyn got into our antics too. We definately got some interesting looks from other guests--but after a few vodka tonics who cares! Other themes were pirates, circus, all black, elegant, crazy hair etc. We had evening entertainment that was fun. The resort was all inclusive--so all food, drink, activities were part of our package. It was really nice to relax and not stress about where or what to feed the families. The kids loved the unlimited slushees and milkshakes.
Sam and Helen tried windsurfing. Both did well but found it more difficult than they anticipated.
Helen, Barb, and I enjoyed the pool bar. John, Shaun and Don did also!
Sam and John are set to go kayaking. They went out several times but on this trip they saw sea turtles. Sam went kayaking with kids club to another island and then hiked to the islands beach.

The resort photographer posed the girls, Kait, Carolyn and Emma at the pool bar. The kids could go in and out of age appropriate kids clubs throughout the day. They did archery, trapeze, crafts, hikes, golf or just hang out and watch TV in the teen room.

Whitsunday, Lindeman Island

2008-08-02T13:26:00.004+10:00

On Sunday Morning, July 20th, we headed to Lindeman Island, Whitsunday, Queensland. From the right front Helen, Alex, Emma, Carolyn, Kait and Sam. In the back, Shaun, Don, Barb, Sharon, and John.
This is the view from reception. This was an absolutely magical part of the world. Tropical island is within a larger group of islands. Most of the islands are deserted and all are part of the Australian Royal National Parkland.
This is the resort from the water. It only had 250 rooms and was perched on the edge of Lindeman Island.
Kait took this photo on a hike to the top of Mount Oldfield, the highest point on the island.
I took this one on a rainy day hike to coconut beach. Barb, Don and I hiked to this beach and I swear there was not a single noise. The rain was starting so the birds were quiet, the ocean still as there was no wind.

The Moon's are here!

2008-08-02T13:02:00.003+10:00

Barb, Don and Carolyn arrived in Sydney on July 18th. We had a hotel in Sydney and so after settling in at about 8 am, we toured Sydney. we walked down to Darling Harbour and took a ferry to Circular Quay.
Kait and Sam were so happy to see Carolyn! I think they just could not stop hugging her for at least an hour.
At Circular Quay, the kids made music with the aboriginal didgeridoo player!
We took another ferry to Watson's bay and hiked around the outside of the "heads of Sydney Harbour" It was beautiful. Then, we took a city bus to Bondi Beach. Here we are having fish and chips at Bondi Beach. Of course we order way too much. The fried fish and fries come wrapped in paper and are traditional Australian beach fare.
Carolyn was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to see the ocean. We gave the kids permission to walk down to the water and get there feet wet. I did not worry as it is the middle of winter here and about 68 degrees. Carolyn went all of the way in! Her jeans were soaked. Here she is in her underwear very happy. Barb had to get her new clothes at a surf shop at the beach.

World Youth Day-Wollongong

2008-07-14T09:47:00.006+10:00

World Youth Day officially starts July 15th in Sydney. Pilgrims are arriving from all over the world. Many are staying in Wollongong. On Saturday, there was a "Welcome to Australia" festival for those staying in the area. It was quite an experience! Seeing so many people of all ages come together to praise God. The crowd got quite packed. In the photo above you can see some of the pilgrims were in native dress.
This is a group waiting in line to register for the week's festivities. The raised flag is from The United Emirates. There is a USA flag around a guy and another with a Scottish flag. We met many people from the USA. It was so nice to talk to people from home! There were large groups from Saginaw, Michigan and Modesto, California. There were stage events to poke fun and learn about Australian Culture. Sheep sheering, whip cracking, lots of G'day's and Goodonya's. There was sing and dancing from Australian groups.
There was a Christian band that got the crowd line dancing. This group is from Croatia. The priest really got in to it and led most of the dances.

This group is from Nigeria. They sang in their native tongue and danced traditionally. It was an amazingly large group that could not all fit on the stage.

This is only a tiny part of the big event. They are projecting more people will be in Sydney than was in the Olympics. I read in the paper there are 1 million communion hosts and 350 liters of wine prepared for the Mass with the Pope on Sunday the 2oth.

We are heading to Sydney on Thursday night. We pick up Barb, Don and Carolyn from the airport and stay in Sydney until Saturday. So we hope to see some of the entertainment. John wants to hear Father Fortuna a rapping priest????? from NYC. On Sunday, we leave for the Great Barrier Reef!!! I can't wait!!!!!!

School Holidays-Sydney

2008-07-14T09:34:00.004+10:00

On Monday, we took the train to Sydney with Jenny. We visited Chinatown and the Haymarket. We also went to the Powerhouse Science Museum.

Kait's birthday week

2008-07-14T09:08:00.004+10:00

Kait's birthday week started on July 1st. On Monday at school she was presented with the ACE award for Attitude, Committment and Effort for Term 2. Two children from each class are chosen for the award each term. Bronte is in the photo with Kait.

On Wednesday, July 2nd her birthday. She got to celebrate at school. This was a big deal having a July birthdayas it is always summer break at home.
On Friday, she had a party with her friends. Most of the girls were from school and Emma, our neighbor. There were 12 girls in all. They arrived after school excited for the party and because the 2 week school holidays started. They danced to their music, wore neon hair, ate pizza, cake and icecream.
Helen helped me and set up a nail salon in the corner. All of the girls got custom nail painting. Most requested polka dots.
Using newsprint paper, toilet paper and streamers, the girls played fashion runway. They first designed a formal (above), then a bathing suit and last, a new school uniform. They performed on the runway in high style. "Work it!" They had fun "hamming it up" in front of the camera.

Happy 4th of July!!

2008-07-04T09:30:00.002+10:00

Happy Fourth of July!

Here it is just Friday. It is an exciting day, though, as it is the last day before school holidays and Kait's birthday party is tonight. We had a great family celebration on her actual birthday--Wednesday. Tonight there will be 13 girls in our apartment for a girly party.
It should be fun.

We are extremely excited for the Moon's visit. Barb, Don and Carolyn will arrive on July 18th. We cannot wait!!! Then we are headed to an island near the Great Barrier Reef.

Let me tell you about Fridays!!

2008-06-30T14:42:00.004+10:00

Let me tell you about Fridays! Back in January sometime, Marie invited me to have coffee on a Friday morning. Well, most Friday mornings after the morning school assembly, there is a group of women that meet for coffee at Litani's. This is a Lebanese coffee shop that is on the next block from the school. Well, needless to say, these women have become really good friends. They are always helpful in explaining things I don't understand and listening when I am excited about something from home. Above is Donna, Kate, Maria, Marie and Corrine.
In the afternoon, the same group meets again at about 2 pm. So above is Renee, Sonia, Kate, Me Marie, Donna, Maria and Maria. It is sort of a standard date and anyone who can make it is invited. So it maybe just 2 or 10 of us but we share laughs and coffee.

Culture in the Sydney CBD

2008-06-22T20:52:00.003+10:00

There is lots of entertainment as you walk along the streets. John enjoyed the bagpiper
This artist is making chalk drawings.
Sam and John are watching a guitar player entertain.
Sam really enjoyed the hip-hop dancers. We had to pull him away and then he kept trying to "dance" as we continued shopping. We had a good time in Sydney. We are beginning to learn our way around. This time we drove in. The other times we have gone to Sydney, we took the train. We still have things we want to see there so I am sure we will be back.

Sydney CBD

2008-06-22T19:24:00.003+10:00

We spent the day in Sydney in the CBD (Central Business District) or shopping district. There are a few beautiful malls that are from the Victorian period with amazing architecture. The shops are high end specialty shoppes--like hats, purses, antique and designer jewelery, Individual designers have stores here. John, Kait and Sam are standing in front of The Strand.
This is the inside of The Strand. In the center is a coffee shop. It goes up two more levels and there is a lower level as well.
This photo is in front of the Queen Victoria Building which is also beautiful. It had Coach, Esprit, Swarvoski, and many high end designers store fronts.
Kait got new glasses in Wollongong on Friday and she wanted you to see the new updated Kait!

Kait's Play

2008-06-21T14:50:00.003+10:00

Kait had her mid-year performance for her drama class at Illawarra Performing Arts Center on Friday Night. She was Alice in Wonderland for a skit, "Humpty Dumpty is Missing."

"Alice" is interrogating Henny Penny on the where abouts of Humpty Dumpty. This was a simplified performance with the characters as the only props.
Some of the characters pause for a photo in front of the real box office for the theater. From left to right, The artist formerly known as the Handsome Prince, Henny Penny, Sam Spade, Alice in Wonderland, The troll of billy goat gruff, Police Chief.
Fiona, is Kait's Drama Teacher. She is fantastic with the children!!

Wollongong Diocese Netball Gala Day

2008-06-20T11:13:00.006+10:00

Kait represented the school in the netball tournament yesterday. She had a great time and did quite well. I had not seen netball played so it was learning day for me too. The game is most similiar to basketball and is a traditional girls sport in Australia, although there are increasing boys teams. There is a hoop, like basketball, but no backboard. The girls have defined positions. For example in this picture Kait was Goal Shooter (GS). Her other teammate in the photo is Wing Attack (WA). There are also positions called Goal Defense, Goal Keeper, Goal Assist, Wing Defense, and Center. The ball can only be moved by passing and only the two offensive goal positions can score. In the defense position, the opponent's feet must be 1 meter from the offense's feet--so you cannot get too close. There is much more to this game than I can describe here but the girls had a great time and it was quite fun to watch.

Here is Kait GS and her teammate GA scoring. All other players , like the Wing Attack, must stay out of the semi-circle.
Kait played Center in this game. She was responsible for throwing the ball in from a center circle to begin play. She could move all over the court --just not in the shooting semi-circle. So they are watching the offense--goal shooter, goal assist and the defense--goal keeper and goal defense under the basket.
They played 7 twenty-minute games. It was a busy day!! Kait, Emma, and Vy are in the front. Rachel, Grace, Holly, Becky, Madeline, Naimh, Carmen and Edwina is peeking over the back. All of these girls are year 5. Bronte and Ally chose not to play. I think all of the girls in Kait's class are coming over for her birthday party on July 4th--So I will have more pictures of them soon.

Saint Francis Xavier Athletics Carnival

2008-06-17T11:39:00.003+10:00

Kait and Sam participated in the school athletics carnival. It was a track meet with the kids competing by age group in track and field events. What an exciting day. It was cold(about 58 degreesF) and windy, but the kids had a really fun time. They did the 200m and 100m run, the high jump, long jump, discus and shot put. There was a short bus ride across town to use the Beaton Park facility. Without any practice or specific instruction the kids just began competing. Sam is doing the long jump. I am not sure of his distance or place on this one. We will have to wait until Friday's assembly to find out for sure. But he did quite well.

Kait is running in the 200 meter dash. She was so happy at the end of the day. She kept repeating, "I broke my losing streak!!! I got 2nd in the discus!!!
Kait and her mates waiting to do the high jump. From the left, Kait, Alison, Edwina, Rachel.

Sam's high jump. It took him a few tries to get better form. A few times the bar moved but it didn't fall.
He kept going round after round. He finally got out at 1meter and 10 cm. That gave him 2nd place! He also thinks he got 1st in the shot put, 4th in the 200 and 100 run. I will let you know the official score on Friday after the assembly.

Girls Night/Boys Night

2008-06-17T11:09:00.002+10:00

Friday Night, the guys went to a rugby match and the girls went to the theater. Shawn, John, Alex and Sam went to see the Illawarra Dragons play the Brisbane Broncos in a footy game. Helen, Emma, Kait and I went to see "Thoroughly Modern Millie" at the Illawarra Performing Arts Center (IPAC). This is the same theater that Kait takes her drama classes. The performance was great and the girls really loved the singing and dancing.
John kept the camera and got a shot of the playing field. On the left hand side of the field, behind the grass hill is the ocean.

John and Sam in the team clothing.
The team won and Sam and Alex celebrated the whole walk home!

Winter Uniform

2008-06-17T10:43:00.002+10:00

Kait and Sam have a winter uniform that they wear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So Kait is in her blouse, tunic and tie. Sam is in his pants, shirt, tie and jumper (sweater). They both have their hats! Sam is wearing the hat he earned from Cross Country. It has "sports representative" embroidered on it. You might think these uniforms are really strict--but every school --public and private wear uniforms similar. The colors, stripes and plaid may differ but the general style is the same. On Tuesday and Thursday, they wear the same sports uniform as they wore in the summer. On really cold days they also have track pants an jackets.

OK, really, really cold is a 10 degree day. That is Celsius. So translated to Fahrenheit it is about 50 degrees. Most winter days are in the 60's 0r 15-19C. Today it is to be 20C so about 70F. It is June and that is a winter month here. So it would be comparable to December at home. The restaurants still serve outside on the warmer days. And surfers are still out in the water. So don't feel too sorry for us as you are enjoying the warm summer days!
This is one of Sam's mates at school--Brock. He and Sam have a lot of fun together!

Brock's mom, Renee, is a good friend of mine and his sister, Bronte, and Kait are great friends.

Renee is part of a wonderful group of women, most are year 5 mom's, that I meet every Friday for coffee. I need to get a photo of them on here, as they have been really great friends. It is nice when others make you feel just one of the group!

Six Months

2008-05-24T21:25:00.004+10:00

Sam's crazy athletic week began on Monday with a special assembly to present the uniforms. The uniforms are new and are a big source of pride for the school. Ben Creagh, a professional rugby player for the Illawarra Dragons was on hand to help present them. Rob Hegyi is one of the coaches. There was also new uniforms for the CC team and Sam got to get special attention recieving it also.
This is Josh, Jackson and Sam before they ran their cross country event. There was probably about 1,000 students there, ages 8-12. The hats are special momentos to keep for being a sports representative of the school.
This is Sam in the middle of a footy match. He plays winger and does a lot of tackling. Sam is the tall one in the middle. He wears a foam helmet, mouth guard and foam shoulder pads which is not a lot of protection from the full-on tackles.
Sam and his mates after the 1st win!

We celebrated our 6 month anniversary on Sunday, May 18. We were invited to a barbecue at Sue (Helen's twin sister) and Alastair's house. We had a great time. John and Alistair jammed together with the guitar and tin whistle. Helen, Sue and I had a very competitive game of scrabble. The kids played Cricket in thier yard. I should have taken pictures--but I didn't.

We had a crazy week. I should say Sam had a crazy week. I had written that he is playing rugby(really it is called footy here as he plays for rugby league vs. rugby union). Our typical week is practice on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and games on Saturday.

Because he got 3rd in his age group at the school cross country carnival, he was able to represent St. Francis Xavier at the all diocese cross country meet. He has been practicing on Tuesdays and Thursday at 8 am, prior to school. They have been running a 2+K on the beach and around the lighthouse. What a great way to start the day. The "GALA" day or CC meet was on Tuesday in Nowra (about 2 hours south). It was a very tough course and I was proud he finished. I was able to be a course marshall. Instead of a golf cart coming to get the injured children, it was a Landcruiser with a cattle prod rack on the front. It was rough terrain. There were about 130 kids and Sam finished 96th. He still made it to footy practice on that afternoon

He also was able to represent St. Franny's for footy. So he has been practicing for that team on Wednesday afternoons. On Thursday this week, he got another day off of school to go to a diocese GALA day. They played 3 footy games between 9:30 and 2:00. It was a busy day. Sam came just short of scoring a try(goal). At 4pm he was back out on the field practicing with his club team. They, the Collegians, had a game today. They played the highest ranked team and ended the game in a tie.

I know he did all of the running and tackling but John and I are bushed!!! Thankfully he only has his Collegian Club footy.

Kait is still in her Drama class and is preparing to put on a play. She has the part of Alice in Wonderland in a play about Humpty Dumpty. I am assured it is a comedy! It will be in a few weeks --hopefully I will get some good photos.

Saturday Sydney

2008-05-07T19:09:00.002+10:00

We went to "The Rocks" area of Sydney. This is the historical part of the city. Cadman's Cottage is one of the original buildings.
Everyone appreciated Sydney's history by having a beer in a historical pub.
We went to a ballet at the Opera House. It was really great. The Opera House is huge and beautiful. After the show and dinner, we took a ferry from circular Quay to Darling Harbour and then walked to Central Station and took the train to Wollongong. We were all exhausted.

Saturday Sydney

2008-05-07T18:54:00.003+10:00

Saturday morning we walked through Hyde Park. We looked at the Anzac Memorial
St. Mary's Cathedral and the Botanical Gardens were some of the things we stopped to see.
This is an aboriginal who was playing the digerredoo and posing for photos with tourists.
Everyone was tired but, we had one more thing to see.

Friday Sydney

2008-05-07T18:42:00.002+10:00

We took the Darling Harbour to Circular Quay.
That took us under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and past the Opera House.

We went past Luna Park, an old amusement park, on the harbour.

Then, we took the Manly Ferry to Manly Beach. This was a great way to see the actual size of the Sydney Harbour and the city of Sydney. It was dark when we returned and the city lights were very pretty but, none of our night time photos turned out well.

We had dinner in the Spanish Quarter. We had great paella and lots of Sangria!

Friday Sydney

2008-05-07T18:28:00.004+10:00

We got back to Wollongong on Thursday night. We quickly re-packed our bags for our trip to Sydney. Only this time, we only took a backpack for us and Mom and Dad took a backpack. We took the Southcoast train from Wollongong to Central Station in Sydney. We were able to check in to our hotel and set off to see the sights. We stopped at Darling Harbour first.
Had an outdoor lunch along the harbour.
Sam found a boat that runs on solar energy.
We went to Sydney Wildlife Museum to see kangaroos, koalas, emus and other Australian animals.
This aboriginal man graciously gave us a didgereedoo lesson. John is hoping to learn to play one of these before we leave.

Thursday--Leural Falls and Lyre Glenn

2008-05-07T18:09:00.003+10:00

We spent the night at a mountain cottage retreat with beautiful views. Once we got going again we did quite a bit of hiking. This was amazingly beautiful spot, Leural Falls. This is at the bottom of the first set of falls. It was a long way down--lots of steps.
Behind Mom and Dad, you the falls as they cascade down and down. Dad is trying to push Mom in the water.
Another waterfall at Lyre Glenn. I am only getting parts of these fall in the picture, most of them fall from really high places. Honestly though, I don't think any of us want to see more waterfalls, rocks or steps for a while!

Wednesday--Scenic World Blue Mountains

2008-05-07T17:42:00.003+10:00

This picture was taken on the rail car down to coal mine area.
Here is the entrance to the coal mine.
A group shot!
If you make this larger, by double clicking on the photo, you can see the tram we took back up the mountain.

Wednesday--Blue Mountains

2008-05-07T14:35:00.003+10:00

On Wednesday morning we got up early and drove to Katoomba, NSW. The Blue Mountains are beautiful and breathtaking. Between Kait and Dad you can see the famed Three Sisters rock formation.
Sam and Mom look down--it is a long way down and it plays with your heard when you get close to the railing.
We took a path that led to a lookout and stairs down to the base of the first of the Three Sisters.
Sam and Dad climb up to the top.
I am on the lookout--looking down and zooming in as far as the camera could go to see John, Kait, Sam and Dad at the base of one of the three sisters. Of course, there was a sign saying if you have breathing, or heart problems please do not go down the stairs.

Tuesday at Canberra--The Nation's Capital

2008-05-07T14:11:00.003+10:00

Tuesday we went up and over the escarpment again, this time to Canberra. We passed a varied terrain. This photo is of Lake George and dry lake bed that is huge. It took us about 3 hours to get there.
This is a eucalyptus tree behind Dad, Kait and Sam.
We are at the Australia National Museum. We did drive around Parliment and a bit of Canberra. The museum is a great synopsis of Australian history and culture. We learned alot about the aboriginees and the effects of the Europeans arrival.

Monday at Minnamura Rainforest and Kiama Blowhole

2008-05-07T13:52:00.004+10:00

Double click on the image if you want to see it bigger--you might on a few of these. We are at the Minnamurra Rainforest on Monday afternoon.
This is a large strangler fig. It was a huge tree!! A stangler fig actually is a tree that begins to grow in the top of another tree. It grows down and around and eventually stranglers the host tree.
This is a beautiful area with large ferns, meandering streams, large boulders, water dragons and lyrebirds.
On our way back to Wollongong, we stopped in the small town of Kiama to see the blowhole.
It was a place with barren volcanic rock and crashing waves. Such a contrast to the lush green of the rainforest and the beauty of the waterfalls.

Monday--Waterfalls, waterfalls

2008-05-07T13:41:00.003+10:00

This is Fitzeroy Falls.
It was a bit chilly--about 60 degrees F. We hiked around in the woods and saw the Twin Falls too.
We drove a while to get to Carrington Falls.
We thought these were beautiful!!

Sunday at the Rock Pools

2008-05-07T13:34:00.003+10:00

Later in the afternoon, we explored the rock pools.
They found shells, sea anemones, fish, sea stars and other treasures by the sea.

Mom even swam in the salt water pool.

Sunday Dad Surfing

2008-05-07T13:26:00.003+10:00

Dad got pressured by Sam to give the board a go. John borrowed one from Chris at work. So Dad had no choice!
John is giving him a few pointers as they head out.

I think Dad is wondering--How do I get on this thing??? He got a ride in!
And he is going back for more!!!

Sunday at North Beach

2008-05-07T13:13:00.004+10:00

Sunday morning we headed to the beach for breakfast and fun in the sun.
Kait and Grandma had a good time being together!
They built a sandcastle.
Apparently Grandpa approves.

Saturday Mom and Dad are here!

2008-05-07T11:59:00.005+10:00

Mom and Dad arrived on Friday April 25th. They both look great and were ready for adventure. We showed them around Wollongong a bit on Friday, but took it easy as we knew they would have jet lag. They did not let it slow them down, though. On Saturday, we went to Peter and Jenny Edwards home. They live on the escarpment by The Sea Cliff Bridge. After a dinner of lamb and kangaroo, we walked the bridge. What beautiful views!
This is some of the crew. Kait, Jenny, and Mom in front. Peter, John and Dad in back. Sam, Clare Edwards (17) and Mathison(15) are not in the photo.
This is the a small section highway built out away from the escarpment(rock cliff).
Another view, as the road sort of hangs out over the ocean.

John Surfs North Beach

2008-04-15T14:36:00.003+10:00

Since Dad had his heart attack, Sam is determined to take Grandpa surfing. So, John borrowed a surf board from one of his friends at work. He decided to take it to the beach and give it a go.
When this lifesaver saw John coming he pulled over the rescue boat and signalled his mates.
They are getting ready! Just kidding! But it was pretty funny that they did prep-up shortly after we got there.

John is heading out to get the big one! John never did get to stand on the board, but he had a great time trying! Sam was quick to give him advice. As they left the beach, Sam told John not to worry he'd get up next time-- if he just kept trying.

World Youth Day Excitement

2008-04-06T12:11:00.002+10:00

Thursday and Friday was an exciting time for the Illawara, especially the Diocese of Wollongong. The cross that Pope John Paul II gave as a gift to the world's youth in 2002, along with the "icon" --another gift in 2006, traveled throughout the diocese in preparation for World Youth Day. WYD'08 is in July in Sydney. The cross and icon has traveled throughout the world but in the last year it has traveled through out Australia calling all youth to come to Sydney. Because I had my camera as I walked Kait and Sam to school--I was able to take this photo of the sunrise over the harbor. On the anticipation of a spiritual event, this sunrise seemed especially fitting the day.
They festivities began at the harbour with St. Mary's Star of the Sea College(it's an all girls 7-12 grade school). You can see the girls carrying the cross as it begins its journey and the icon--the painting of Mary and child. Pope JPII gave the painting to symbolize Mary as the ulimate follower of Christ and one we all are to emulate. The painting followed the cross as the girls first carried it to the Cathedral. Kait and Sam's school participated in a ceremony and got to touch the cross. Bishop Peter was a vigiliant participant in every ceremony. You can also see a stick by the speaker. That is the message stick--an aboriginal way of communicating. So at every stop the hollowed stick was opened and a message from that school was added to the stick.
Years 5 and 6 helped carry the cross through town and to the Market area. It was a fairly large procession lead by the girls from St. Mary's.
Once in the stage area at the market, there was music and ceremony and a beautiful sermon by Bishop Peter. He challenged us not to have "donut syndrome." To often, he said, we focus on the hole and not the donut. We focus on what we don't have instead of what we do have.

The cross and icon continued to travel with groups and schools throughout our region. On Friday night it was carried into Win Stadium for a concert. John and I took the kids and had an amazing time. The music was beautiful, and seeing so many highschool and college students so excited about Christ was moving. Emma, Kait and Sam even went onto the floor, with glow sticks in hand, and danced to the music with lots of other kids. It was truly well done. John was very excited to hear the Christian music --his way-with lots of guitars, drums and singing.

Saturday was rugby game, drama, and a going away party for the Parr's. Tami, Spencer and Alaina Parr are heading back to North Star after spending 12 months in Wollongong. They have been good friends to us and we will miss them.

More birds!

2008-03-31T13:54:00.004+11:00

The birds here continue to fascinate us. The kids went out on the veranda with bread to try to lure the cockatoos in for a snack. It worked. Sam just sort of held the bread up and a couple of birds landed on a near by roof to check him out and soon they were over for a nibble.
As you can see, they are good sized birds. Sam is having a great time!
Kait got in on it too. I think they had about 6 different birds come to visit that afternoon. We also learned bread is not good for them --that we should feed the sunflower seed--I just didn't have any. John found out at work if you get in the pattern of feeding them often, they will come and wait on the railing for you to come out and feed them. If you don't come however, they are known to destroy wooden houses. Our building is all concrete. I think we will only feed sporadically!!

It is Fall and the weather is turning colder. The mornings are in about 16 c(58f). I think it got to 68 f today. A typically winter day here (July) is in the low 60's. So it should not be too bad. At the beach, the water is getting cooler. Sam has a wet suit that he wear when surfing. It helps his body not get so banged up from the fins on the bottom.

Sam had another rugby test (scrimmage) on Sunday. He is playing for the Collegians League rugby. There are two types of rugby league (Sam) and union. I did not know this but league is more rough--yippee!! Anyway, there are different rules. The Collegians are a Catholic mens club sort of like the Knights of Columbus. They support the team that has boys in age groups under 8's up to adult. They play other league teams. We travel to other towns to do this and the season goes through September. He practices on Tuesday and Thursday and has games on Sunday. We are learning alot. John has figured out some of the rules--but, I am a bit clueless. I am trying though. It is quite rough. Tackling with very little protection. I will get some photos this weekend.

Kait is doing a drama class on Saturday afternoons at the Performing Arts theater. She really loves it. I have seen nothing so far. She goes in the door and comes out 1.5 later happy. Apparently this weekend they were filmed doing a number of different performances.

Well all of this keeps us from traveling much right now. We did go to the Nan Tiem Temple on Saturday morning. It is the largest buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere. It was a very peaceful place. We had a vegetarian lunch and lotus tea. I forgot the camera--I am sure we will go there again.

On Sunday after rugby we went to Bulli beach to have lunch at a place with water views, Ruby's.

It was a perfect place for lunch.

I am trying to keep us visiting new places--but life is getting in the way. Mom and Dad are coming April 25th to May 10th. We plan to visit a lot of places with them. So I will keep you posted--no pun intended!

Cross Country Carnival

2008-03-31T13:32:00.003+11:00

St Francis Xavier, Kait and Sam's school, had thier cross country carnival. This is not like we do it in the States. Instead of our PE, they have sport. Sport is every Tuesday and Thursday and the kids wear thier sport uniform on those days. They do different sports throughout the year. (They were doing swimming when we arrived.) So, every kid (grade 2 to grade 6) must train for 9 weeks and participate in a 2K run. The younger ones run a shorter race. I think this is for all schools in New South Wales(our state). The training every Tuesday and Thursday for 1st term culminates in a all day carnival. I helped so I did not get the best pictures--but I will do my best to descibe it. The photo above is the park really close to the school. Just beyond the trees is South beach. The course is mapped out by colorful cones(called witches hats here) and volunteers pointing the way(that was me--post 6!). The kids were divided into age groups for the running. So Sam was in the 9 year olds and Kait in the 10.
For special all school events, the kids are divided into "houses". (kind of like Gryffindor, Slytherin, etc in Harry Potter) Kait and Sam are in the Yellow House(Loyola). Each class consists of an even number of kids K-6 and siblings are kept together. There are 3 other houses--Red, Green and Blue. They wore shirts in the appropriate color for thier team. So beyound the individual competition, there is a team competion. The winning team gets thier name on a plaque that goes back alot of years. Blue has been the reigning team for the last 5 years --so the pressure is on.
Here is Kait with her good friend Edwina. Thrilled to be in the same house. They met thier goal and finished! They jogged alot, but walked some too.
Sam, holding the flag, did well. He got 3rd in his age class. It was a tough race and it was down to the last second as to who would get 1,2, and 3 spots. He was quite proud of himself--he has one more sport he loves--long distant running. The Blue team won again! So now they have a six year winning streak. Next term they do Track and Field--and have another carnival. I am sure I will help then too.

South Beach

2008-03-18T12:23:00.003+11:00

Saturday, late afternoon, we went to South Beach. We can walk to this beach also. We have just been going to North beach. John gave Sam the surf board he bought for him used on Australia E-bay. Sam was so excited to receive it. He wants to use it all of the time. South Beach is a bit calmer when it comes to the waves and therefore , calms some parental fears. So here is Sam with his board. He has it waxed and decorated with stickers.
This is why I am not the biggest fan of South Beach. Looking North you have the beautiful view of the lighthouse and outer edge of Belmore Basin. Looking South, you have the steel works. John believes it is beautiful and a sight to behold. I don't necessarily agree.
Kait didn't get in the water much this evening but enjoyed a good book on the sand. I got this shot of them together though. In the distance you can see the 3 of the Five Island of the Illawara. Kait is officailly 1 inch taller than Sam. She has not been taller than Sam since she was 3 years old. Have a happy Easter. The kids and John have Friday and Monday off. We may so some day trips. Of course, I will keep you posted!

Jervis Bay

2008-03-10T21:30:00.008+11:00

Kookaburra sits in an old gum tree--remember that song. Well we saw one! A Kookaburra that is--I don't know if it is sitting in a gum tree or not. It most likely is.

This weekend, we had a lot of fun. Kait and Sam went to a Disco birthday party on Friday night. Saturday we did errands and Kait went to Drama Class. Saturday night we went to Mass and then to dinner at an outdoor cafe. On Sunday we left early for Jervis Bay. A 2-hour drive south. We first arrived in the town of Huskisson. A little seaside village catering to the tourist with boat trips to see dolphins and whales. We walked around a bit to stretch our legs. Then we came to this park over looking Jervis Bay.

This shot shows the entrance to to Bay from the Sea. The bay is huge the entrance is far away. The bay was is 15 km long and 10 km wide. It is deep too--27 meters deep. The aquamarine water gives way to pristine white beaches.

This small cove is called Shark Net cove. This entire area belonged to the aborigines for 20,000 years. Captain Cook sighted it in 1770 on St George Day (April), he did not land. It was not until 1811 before it was explored by Europeans from England.

I bought an acrylic painting of Shark Net bay from this man.. The younger guy in the photo is from Seattle. He is on holiday in Australia and was so excited to hear American accents--he bought a painting too.

Ray, the artist, was really nice and happy to share information with us. He directed us to the Booderee Royal National Park. He suggested we have our lunch and a swim at Green Patch and then visit the historic lighthouse. He was a great guy and we headed off following his advice.

Birds Green Patch Booderee Jervis Bay

2008-03-10T21:04:00.006+11:00

After we had our picnic lunch, Kait and Sam found bird seed on the ground and began hand feeding the birds. The red ones are either Rosellas or King Parrots. We have heard them called both--I think I need to get a bird guide book.

Kait is sharing the seed treats too. Of course at this point, John and I see the sign that clearly says "DO NOT FEED BIRDS" Oops!

Sam found a lorikeet who was hungry. There is very small grouping of trees behind Sam. He looked over into the trees and saw a wallaby (a small relative of the kangaroo). Of course he bounded into the trees yelling "Kangaroo! Dad! Kangaroo! The wallaby I am sure was scared beyond belief --took off towards the beach!

Green Patch Jervis Bay

2008-03-10T20:40:00.006+11:00

After our picnic lunch we walked down a path through the trees and came across the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. It was so much like a picture postcard. The water is an intense turquoise blue. The sand was white and very fine. It "whistled" as you walked because of the friction of our steps. There were only a few people around. It was extremely beautiful!!!!

The beach is lined by trees and typical Australian bush.

John looking quite aussie in his Kangaroo leather hat that Santa brought.

Green Patch Jervis Bay

2008-03-10T20:22:00.004+11:00

Kait enjoyed the sunning on the white fine sand!

Sam is snorkeling in the clear water. Behind him there are 2 military ships and between the ships is a submarine. There is a small naval base called HMAS Cresswell.

This photo is showing the opening between the large cliffs to Tasman Sea--Pacific ocean.

Kait and I had a great time snorkeling. It was quite an experience swimming amoung the fish. the water was so clear and blue!!

St. George lighthouse Wreck Bay

2008-03-10T19:26:00.007+11:00

We left Green Patch and drove to wreck lighthouse. We were told it was a spot not to miss. We drove on a gravel road for what seemed like forever. The drive proved exciting because we had a rather large kangaroo hop out in front of the car. Then we round a bend and we see this ruined structure in the distance. Click on the picture to get a better view.

Once we walked up to the site and around to the front this is what we saw. A broken down lighthouse. The story goes that there were a number of shipwrecks near Cape St George as boats were looking to get into Jervis Bay. So in 1857, it was erroneously decided to put a lighthouse at the this location. Apparently the architect and surveyor based thier decision on location largely on ease of construction and not on where the lighthouse should be for maritime use. The lighthouse only worked for 38 years as it caused more wrecks as it directed the ships into rocks not into the bay. So a new lighthouse was built in the better location in 1860. The moonlight caused the golden sandstone lighthouse to glow so it continued to cause navigational problems so in 1900's the lighthouse was blown to rubble. The best thing is that the road allowed us to get to this beautiful spot with cliff views of the sea.

This is the southern view from the lighthouse.

This is the northern view. The eastern view is equally amazing view of sky and sea and nothing else. From May to November you can apparently have views of migrating whales. One whale species is described as the Southern White Whale. It weighs 20 tonnes and is 50 feet long. I hope we get a chance to see that this winter!

Blue Mountains Evans Lookout and Wentworth Falls

2008-02-17T19:37:00.003+11:00

After the last hike, we were happy to find Evans Lookout. It had great views by just driving up and a short walk. Of course, like at Govetts Leap there were hours of hiking that could be done.
The mist in the distance is actually rain heading our way. Back to the car!
We drove a distance to Wentworth falls. We hiked only about 25 minutes for this amazing view!!
This waterfall was the best we have seen yet!. The camera cannot really truly tell the story as the waterfall continues beyound this point down the valley. It was wide and tall with different pooling and falling again. Amazing!

We had a great weekend and cannot wait to visit the Blue Mountains again. There is so much yet to explore and much we want to see a second or even 3rd time.

Blue Mountains-Blackheath-Govett's Leap

2008-02-17T19:24:00.004+11:00

This is the other side of the drop. It was impressive!
John and the kids spot another waterfall in the distance. It is about where we started our hike.
John is explaining to the kids that these mountains, were not formed by the land having been pushed up by earthquakes or volcanoes, but were formed by erosion millions of years ago!
This is the way of our hike-from the waterfall to waterfall. It was a lot of down hill steps cut into the path so not too bad. However, the walk back up all of those steps was a killer.

Blue Mountains-Blackheath-Govett's Leap

2008-02-17T19:10:00.003+11:00

After a much needed nights sleep in Blackheath, we headed to Govett's leap. This is on the north side of the mountain ridge. It is a cold (60-ish) and cloudy day.
The waterfall is called Bridal Falls. We decide to hike to the closer lookout which is just on top of the falls.
We walk down for what seemed like forever.

We came to this meandering stream. We walked across it on concrete stepping stones. At the end of the water is the fall!

Blue Mountains Scenic World-cableway

2008-02-17T18:52:00.005+11:00

The view from the cable ride is yet another amazing perspective of the same valley. We stood on this ride as we ascended back to the top.
The single rock formation --that we looked down on from the skyway. In the distance you can see the skyway suspended on the cable.
The waterfall from a different view.
The three sisters again!

Blue Mountains Scenic World-railway

2008-02-17T18:40:00.005+11:00

We did the ride across--Now we are to take the train down into the valley. This is the path of the old coal miners and it is steep! Kait and Sam are both a bit nervous! We leave the terminal and head down a steep grade between some rock.
This is our view as we begin our quick descent. John guesses it was about a 70 degree grade as we dropped down. It went fairly quick and was exciting as we "flew" past the trees and ferns.
In the valley, we walk through some old coal mining stations and equipment and then through the beautiful rainforest of large ferns and fig and turpentine trees. An elevated walkway keeps the forest fairly undisturbed by the trekking. John took this to prove that I am really on this trip. I end up taking most of the photos so there are few with me in them. We had an easy 30 minute walk to the cableway straight up!
This is the view as we board and begin to ascend to the top!

Blue Mountains Scenic World-skyway

2008-02-17T18:25:00.006+11:00

Scenic World is an old Coal Mine that has been converted to take advantage of the wonderful views. There are three rides to see the mountains from different points. We took all three. The first one is the skyway--a cable car suspended over the valley. This is what it looked like as we boarded the car.
This is a picture of the cable car from the other look out. We took this up the mountain after hiking around down in the valley. Looking down from the skyway we saw this waterfall. The car had a glass bottom so it was truly breathtaking from up here!
This is a rock formation that had old stairs stuck to the sides. Apparently it was once a place to climb.

Blue Mountains-Katoomba

2008-02-17T17:55:00.004+11:00

Saturday morning we left early for a 2 hour drive northwest to Katoomba, New South Wales. We arrived in the Blue Mountains not sure exactly what to expect and we were so overwhelmed by the beauty! We took 240 pictures and here are a few.
This is a the famed "3 sisters." An Aboriginal legend says that 3 beautiful maidens from one tribe were in love with 3 brothers from another tribe. The love was forbidden as the tribes were at war. A medicine man turned the three maidens into the rocks to save them for the men's return from battle. The medicine man died before he could bring them back to life and so the women are still stone. What a tale!!!
Here is a view down the valley. We are looking over southwest side of the mountain range.

After the clouds pass and the sun returns --you get a better view.

on the topic of birds . . .

2008-02-06T13:30:00.001+11:00

This morning about 7:30 am, I went to wake up Kait. I opened her curtain and patio door and saw a flock of lorikeets (not parrots or budgies as I said previously--did a bit of research). I have seen them before, but not at home and not when I had the camera. I got pictures to share today. If you click on the picture--it will open up so you can have a bigger photo.
Using the zoom, I got in a bit closer.
This is part of the same group on a bush between the two backyards. I am sure the neighbors were really questioning my sanity taking pictures early in the morning of lorikeets. They are as common as robins at home. A robin would be extremely rare ! :)

Tropical Birds

2008-02-01T20:10:00.001+11:00

Fettucini is Sam's pet Peewee. Last night, we had a storm and the wind blew the Rice Crispies(called Rice Pops here), that Sam leaves for Fettucini, all over the veranda. Today, Fettucini cruised all over the veranda collecting his treats. He comes by at least once a day for a visit.
This afternoon, I was able to get the boy across the street feeding the cockatoos. There are 4 of them on the railing. When I am walking around, I also see lorikeets(they look like parrots) that are bright green, red and blue. There are also King Parrots that are predominately red-they are a bit more scarce though.
This evening we were walking to the Cambodian restaurant. About 3 buildings from ours, we found the birds had settled. So, I ran back to our unit for the camera. I promised Tommy I would get some photos for Marisa. So, Marisa here is one up close.
Here is what it looked like in the tree. The red bird next to it is called a Rosella. There were several of them in this yard also.

Sam had Chicken Tofu soup for dinner tonight, he had soy milk with his breakfast. He has really diversified his eating. Kait had something like sweet and sour chicken and rice so she is also happy as long as she can have rice!

This kids survived the 1st short week of school --only Thursday and Friday. Now down to serious work!!

Surf school day 3

2008-01-30T14:39:00.001+11:00

Sam and Alex on the way to the water and waves!
Sam catching an early morning wave.
He is up!
Heading "outback," This means they are heading out behind where the waves break. About 100 yards out. The instructor told me it is only about 16 feet deep there. She had the boys dive down and touch the sand to help reduce thier fears.

Surf school day 3

2008-01-30T14:34:00.001+11:00

Up and moving fast!
How is that for a graceful fall!
This is Kari, the owner of the surf school, with the guys after graduation

Tibetan pants

2008-01-30T14:20:00.000+11:00

With part of thier money, the girls, Kait and Emma, went shopping. They purchased matching outfits from a shop that sells items from Nepal. These are tibetan pants, hemp shirts and striped headbands. They had so much fun trying them on, then wearing them out of the store and through the market and mall. They definately got alot of attention!
While the boys had surfing lesson this morning the girls boogie boarded.
Kait coming in from a break after being pummeled by the waves.

Surf School Day 2

2008-01-29T19:38:00.001+11:00

Day 2 of Surf School--School was at Thirroul Beach again today. The guys had a great time. I did not get to go because of having one car so I took the girls shopping. These are Helen's photos.
Sam in true "wipe out" form!
Apparently Sam caught the wave way out and rode all the way into the beach and on to the sand. Apparently the waves were "dumpers." That is a swell that comes up quick and high and then drops suddenly making them difficult to ride. Tomorrow is the last day of school. It will be at Wollongong North Beach at 8:15 am. Thank God I can get a Cappucino at the beach!!!!!
School starts after summer break on Thursday.

Taupu Surf School

2008-01-29T08:39:00.000+11:00

Sam and Alex are going to school! The only school that they are so excited about that they did not sleep the night before! Surf School!!!
They get 3 days of lessons. Two hours each day. Yesterday was day one. The school provides wet suits, rashies, and the boards.
They are getting sized up for thier boards. John and Shaun look on. It is Australia day weekend so they have the day off. Both guys were as excited and nervous as the boys!
School--surfer style! They got a quick lesson on Rips (rip tides), how to stand on the board, how to get from laying to standing and off to the water!!

2008-01-29T08:15:00.000+11:00

The waves are big. It takes every bit of Sam's effort to get the 6 ft board out ot the surf and out to the big waves.
He is quite exhausted but very, very determined to catch a wave!! But, he is wiping out on this wave.
Kait looks like a sweet beach babe lovingly cheering on her brother. However, the smile is because Dad promised her an amount equal to Sam's surf school tuition for SHOPPING!

Catchin' a Wave!

2008-01-29T07:58:00.001+11:00

After several attempts and wipeouts, Sam is getting the hang of it! John caught this sequence on the camera. He's getting up.
He is a bit more up as he is hurtling toward the shore!
Almost there! Balance is the key!
Hang ten, Dude! He is a surfer!!! I'll get more pictures over the next two lessons--Tuesday and Wednesday!

Mount Kiera Lookout

2008-01-29T07:36:00.001+11:00

After 5 hours at the beach, we were a bit wiped out! But after a brief recovery period, we were off to experience the view of Mt. Kiera. Off our back patio we have a view of Mt Kiera. It is a high point in the escarpment. The escarpment is a mountainous ridge along the coastline. The Illawara region is the area between the escarpmant and the sea. We live in the Illawara region, in the largest city of the region--Wollongong.
Here is a view of Wollongong and some suburbs. I believe if you click on the photos you can see them full screen. The lighthouse is a landmark near our apartment. To the left you see a large hotel, The Novotel, it light brown. In front of that is North Beach. So between the lighthouse and The Novotel is where we live.
This is looking to the north. You can see the ridge of the escarpment and the many cities and beaches heading towards Sydney.
This is looking south. This is where John works--Bluescope Steel and Port Kembla.

Australia Day Weekend

2008-01-29T07:17:00.000+11:00

Saturday was Australia Day-a celebration of the discovery of Australia by Captain Cook in 1700's. We had a fun weekend celebrating with the Aussie's. On Saturday, we had the Edwards to our apartment for dinner and the festivities. There was a carnival atmosphere in the parks surrounding Belmore Basin and South Beach. Bands, Amusement rides and games, magic shows and girls walking on stilts was entertainment for a very large group of picnic-ing families. At 9:00pm there was a beautiful fireworks display choreographed to music. We are lucky to live close so we were able to walk over(only 1 block) and come home for dinner. We walked back just minutes prior to the fireworks.

On Sunday, we went to the beach. Kait was turned into "turquoise" the mermaid by her Daddy.
A regatta was taking place while we were at the beach--one of many events held for the special weekend.

Canberra--The Nation's Capital City

2008-01-21T16:18:00.000+11:00

This is our drive into Canberra. The Parliment Building is the structure just ahead. The building is built into a hill in the center of the city. Canberra is a planned city. There was a small village on the site, when the decision was made to create a capital city between Sydney and Melbourne. Canberra, an aboriginal word, means meeting place. The city was planned around the government buildings, with the streets actually being large circles and concentrically move out to form the city. There are cross roads--so from the sky(I am told) it is like a large spider web-type formation. The reason the Parliment building is underground or at the normal rise of the land, is to symbolically state that the govermental leaders are not above the people. Of course, it could be a security measure too! Anyway, after the building was built the excavated hill was place on the top of the structure. Can you tell we took the tour?
This is a view from the front door to the old parliment building and then to the War Memorial in the distance. Apparently, per our tour guide, the prime minister's office opens from the far end of the building and through a succession of opened double doors this is his view and a visual reminder of the past.
Here is the tour group, John, Emma, Kait, Helen, Alex, Sam and Shaun. I am the photographer in this one.
This is on top of the building and under the large structure that holds the flag. The flag (you can see it in the 1st photo) is as long as 2 greyhound busses. It was pouring down rain but the kids really didn't care!

Embassies

2008-01-21T15:46:00.000+11:00

On Sunday we went for a drive past all of the foriegn embassies. Most countries have a building or series of buildings for thier diplomat and offices. We were able to drive by the embassies although we were carefully watched by Australian Police in bright orange cars! This is the United States Embassy. It was all Georgian architecture (it looked like Miami U.) It was by far the largest compound and it did have the most security. Although Germany and China were a close second.
By contrast is Canada's embassy. Like some other countries, it had no fence or security. Sam and Alex actually roamed around on the lawn. Alex, Shaun, Emma, and Kait pose for the photo and Sam is looking for maple leafs on the ground.
The buildings and the grounds were an expression of each country. They were just beautiful. We only got out at Canada first and then the US. By then, we felt it was best to stay in our cars and just drive past. We were the only tourists there on a Sunday morning, so all eyes were on us. John was sure his FBI/Marine Corp file had been pulled and checked as we left the area.

Questacon

2008-01-21T15:25:00.001+11:00

Questacon is a wonderful science museum in Canberra. We had a great time here on Sunday. The highlight has to be the Free Fall. The area in the museum was to defeat your natural fears. There was a fake guillotine, dizzy-ing activities and then this Free fall. You had to be suited up as Sam in a jumpsuit. And then climb the steps to the big fall. You had to climb up on a platform, reach out and grab the bar. You, then had to hang from the bar and let go. So you free fall and then land on a slide at the bottom.
This is Sam--he was first to go. Although by the look on his face prior to the drop he had second thoughts. But once he plunged, he plunged again and again.
The first time Kait just could not do it. But the second time she went with a squeal. Then she made the drop several more times.

When asked this was the highlight of thier weekend in Canberra!

Home in the 'Gong

2008-01-07T09:35:00.001+11:00

Many of you have asked me to put pictures on the blog of our apartment. We live in an apartment that is privately owned condominiums. The front of our building is on pictures of the kids going school. It is has a security door and then we have an elevator ride just one floor to our unit. This is a view of from our front door. It is a great room floor plan. We set it up into zones. We have a sitting area for reading and talking. the kitchen beyond that. We set up a computer area on the far wall. The dining table is sort of in the middle of everything.
This is a look back the other direction. It is a better view of the TV area. The building is just a bit over one year old. To purchase a unit like ours is $550,000. We also have a two car garage space with garage door and opener in the parking garage under the building.
Here is the kitchen. It is small but very effecient. I'm liking the black granite!
We have two patio doors out to our veranda. It is quite large. Many people in our building have sofas and other things to make real living space out here. We have a grill, table and six chairs. AND our Christmas tree-now patio plant!

Home in the 'Gong

2008-01-07T09:20:00.001+11:00

This is our Hall! Thrilling Huh? The bedrooms and baths are to the sides. the room at the end of the hall is the laundry room, with a door to the outside.
This is our bedroom. We have a small bath off of it. Toliet, Shower and sink.
This is Kait's room. She and Sam have patio doors out to a small patio on the back of the unit. I dry our clothes on it. We don't use it too much--although it has a view of Mt Kiera.
This is Sam's room. The bedrooms are small and sparsely furnished but we are making them work. The kids share a large bath room. It is actually two rooms with a short hall between. One room holds the soaking tub, sink, and shower. Across the hall, there is another room with a toilet and sink. Seems odd--but it works very well. There you have it! Our home in Wollongong!

Fishing

2008-01-05T13:46:00.000+11:00

Sam had been bugging and, I mean bugging, John to go fishing. They had to wait for our crate, which had the fishing poles in it. It arrived the week before Christmas--so we have been busy with holidays and traveling. John needed to get a fishing license and Sam reminded him daily. Well, Friday night John got his fishing license before we went out for dinner. Sam could not sleep and he was up at 6:00 am to check the weather. When John and I got up at 7:15 he was on the internet looking up Wollongong fishing. He knew the weather report, had snacks packed, was dressed and was ready to go. The place they had spotted for bait (shrimp and squid) did not open until 9:30!

They did not catch any fish, but they did get some great photos of big waves crashing by the lighthouse at Belmore Basin. Sam says he got bites from some fish but they all got away. Better luck next time. Sam is right now trying to talk John into going again tomorrow!

Friday Night

2008-01-04T20:41:00.000+11:00

I just had to share a laugh we had. John came home from work and suggested we try a Thai restaurant. There are several, but we had not been to any. Jasmine Rice had been recommended to us. We walked 7 blocks to the restaurant. We loved the food and the kids loved dining without shoes and sitting on cushions on the floor. On the way home, we stopped at the Le Ventie, a Lebanese restaurant, for coffee. We had a good laugh when we realized that, we, Americans visiting Australia had dinner at a Thai restaurant and coffee at a Lebanese Cafe stopped to say goodnight to our Canadian friends. Life is Good!!!!!!!!! Definately an experience we would not have in Napoleon, Ohio USA! Well, we have the Canadian friends--Hi McKay's and Twigg's!

Fourth of New Years '07

2008-01-02T16:19:00.001+11:00

When I woke up New Year's Eve. I knew the plan was to have a picnic on the beach and watch fireworks. We made plans with Helen, Sean, and the kids to celebrate together. I could not get in the mood. It did not seem like New Year's Eve! It was in the 80's and sunny. A beautiful day and a picnic??? Well, I needed to shift my thinking and plan my food. I did not think my Mom's cabbage rolls (Wynne family tradition for New Year's) were going to hit the spot. So I just decided it was the Fourth of New Years. It definately felt alot more like the Fourth of July. Even the kids seemed to get a bit more in the mood of things after we started saying "Happy Fourth of New Year!" So we headed to the beach about 7:30. The kids played and had a great time. John and the boys were playing rugby. Helen and Sean did not end up getting to come. Helen was not feeling well. She got dehydrated on the hike at the rainforest and it made her pretty sick. She even ended up at ER that night. She is just fine now! Drink your water!!!!!
The girls celebrated by writing 2007-2008 on thier arms with lipstick! The crowd is small in this photo but it got very very crowded prior to the fireworks.
The fireworks were shot over the lighthouse.

New Year's Eve 2007

2008-01-02T16:05:00.000+11:00

We had a great time waiting for the fireworks to start. Kait and Emma had alot of fun posing for the camera.
The kids had glow-in-the dark necklaces and they formed 2008 with them.
That is what it looked like with the flash off--so what it really looked like. The fireworks were at 9:30. Afterwards we, along with 500,000 other people, wandered home. We went to a small party in our building. We watch the Sydney New Year on TV. Those were awesome fireworks!!!! The kids experienced city life on New Years. There was plenty of parties and dancing in the street. We ushered in 2008 in Aussie Fashion. I hope you had a fun New Year's Eve and we wish you all the best in 2008!

Minnamurra Rain Forest

2007-12-30T20:06:00.000+11:00

Today, we went to Minnamurra Rain Forest with the Sheridan's. We left our apartment building in two cars. Of course, boys (Sam and Alex) in one and girls (Kait and Emma) in the other. We had a picnic lunch shortly after arriving and then headed out on our walk through the tropical rainforest. The foliage is beautiful. I took this picture of a large fern growing over the path filtering the sunlight.
The trees were very tall, they need to be to get through the dense foliage to the sunlight that they need.
John and Shaun pausing on the walk. The boys and Helen took off in a dead sprint through the forest. We refused to go so quickly and miss the sights. However we came to a "y" in the trail. We did not know which way they went. One choice took us back to the beginning, and the other promised a very difficult steep walk with waterfalls the reward at the end. John and I were sure the boys would have allowed Helen no choice but the tough route. So we headed up. I will admit it was very steep. Kait and Emma refused to go further at not quite half way. John and Shaun went a bit further, while we rested on a bench. They soon returned convinced that Helen and the boys would not have continued up this path as it only got steeper. So we headed down. On the way, we saw a Superb Lyrebird. A large black bird that mimics almost any sound, forages on the ground for insects, and displays a lyre-shaped tail. Anyway, we got to the bottom finished the walked expecting to find the boys and Helen waiting for us. No, they did the whole hike--sounds like it was quite difficult but they succeeded. They were very thirsty but filled with adrenaline.

A look up through the canopy. The "floor" is filled with streams and boulders, ferns and many other plants

Minnamurra Rain Forest

2007-12-30T19:39:00.001+11:00

We are all on one of the rope bridges-except Helen, she was ahead of us at this point
This is all one tree. Not only was it very wide, it was also very, very tall. It is called a Strangler Fig Tree.
The fern that is growing in this tree is quite large. The parasitical relationship must work really well --there were many of these ferns. At a nursey these ferns are $100.
I took this picture looking straight up a very tall fig tree. The rainforest canopy is absoutely beautiful. I could not get enough of looking up through the foilage at the mottled sunshine. This was a great day. The rainforest is only about 1 hours drive south. I am sure we will go there again.

Sydney

2007-12-28T21:38:00.001+11:00

We arrived at Wollongong Station for our trip to Sydney. We took the South Coast to Central in Sydney. We walked only 3 blocks to our hotel. We packed light--only one backpack with all of our clothing. It was heavy and we were happy to check into our hotel at 10:00 am. We stayed on World Square in a Rydges Hotel. The location was central to the train, Darling Harbour, the Monorail, and China town.
We took the monorail outside our hotel to Darling Harbour. I wish we had more pictures of this beautiful--made for tourism location. Many shops, restaurants, jet boat rides and various entertainment. It was well done and very fun place to be. We went to the Sydney Aquarium. Our big highlight, besides the wonderful fish, was the platypus! I had never seen one before and was suprised that it was so small. A big one weighs only 3 kilos about 6 to 7 pounds. It is an odd looking animal. We also went to the Australian Wildlife Museum. This was equally as nice. The highlight to us was the butterflies. There we many brightly colored ones landing on us.

After two museums, Sam tried to talked John into a water taxi ride. Didn't work! We walked to the other side of the Harbour and saw street acts, merry-go-rounds, paddle boats, bungee jumping etc. We were exhausted and walked back to the hotel. We stopped at a Spanish restaurant. Spanish Austrilias. We had tapas. We were very happy the kids tried many of the dishes. We bought a plate of back up schnitzel and chips(chicken and fries), just in case. John and I enjoyed the Sangria. We were all ready for bed at 9pm!!

Sydney

2007-12-28T20:52:00.000+11:00

On Friday Morning, we headed out to Circular Quay. We walked about 10 blocks from our hotel. We went through Hyde Park. The trees and gardens are striking. This is a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city.
Sam wanted to go in the Sydney Tower. We suggested we do that another time we come. He was not happy and I am sure he will try to hold us to our promise. It looks like it would be a nice thing to do. . . another time!

In the park, we found the Anzac Day Memorial. It was a beautiful ornate building, but the most moving thing was this statue in the center of the building. It is of two people supporting a fallen comrade.
St. Mary's Cathedral is preparing for the Pope's visit. The white archway is a countdown display with 200 more days until WYD (World Youth Day). We could not go in as there was construction and cleaning preparation going on.

Sydney

2007-12-28T20:18:00.000+11:00

Here is the famed opera house. It is very beautiful. It truly defines Sydney, as you approach by sea. They were setting up for the big NYC--New Year Celebration '07. There was alot of hubbub about the impending event. We took a ferry from Circular Quay (pronounced "key") to Manly beach as we left CQ we first came around the Opera House.

We saw the Prime Minister's home, across the bay from the Opera House.
Kait and Sam enjoyed the sights of Sydney. The city is quite large. this is just a small portion of the skyline. You can see the Sydney tower--the tall tower with the lookout on top. Sam is hoping to go up there on the next trip.

This is Manly beach! It is famous--but oh so crowded. We have been to nicer beaches!!! From the ferry in Sydney Harbour we walked about 2 blocks to the open ocean. In those two blocks there is every cafe and shop you could ever need. I can see it being a wonderful place in the evening--with no kids of course. We ate at a wonderful outdoor deli--Sam is getting into antipasta with John and I. We took the ferry to Circular Quay the city train to Central Station and took the South Coast Train home. I insisted on a taxi home from the train station. It is great to be home!

Fitzroy Falls

2007-12-23T19:41:00.002+11:00

For our Sunday adventure, we set off for Morton National Forest. We have read and heard of the Fitzroy Waterfalls. The Nat'l forest is really quite large and we are going to the northern most edge. We have about a 1 hour drive southwest. John maneuvered the steep incline and hairpin curves up the escarpment. We stop at this pie shop, for a restroom break and to try a pie. Pies are traditionally meat pies. We get a couple to try. Sam and John love them. Kait and I don't share their enthusiasm.
We arrive at the park and find a nice welcome center and head out on the easy trail. We pass a natural habitat for duck-billed platypus, according to the sign. However, they are in the nest this time of year. We will have to come back in the winter. June, July and August are when they are the most active. We come to a lookout over Yarrunga Valley. The mountains in the distance look blue. This is due to the Eucalyptus trees and the haze created by the moisture of the forest. Just to the left of the photo is a very long waterfall and a very long way down. We tried but could not get a photo of the entire falls. It was just too large. So we hiked around for a better lookout on the other edge of the valley.
Here it is! Fitzroy Falls. If you look at the top of the falls to the left, you can see the lookout we were on taking the first photo.
We hiked further and came to Twin Falls. There are 2 of these on either side of the mountain. We hiked back and had our picnic lunch at the welcome and information area. We ask about Belmore Falls. We had been on a dirt road before and turned back sure we were in the wrong spot. The guide said we should really see it. So off we go.

Belmore Falls

2007-12-23T19:11:00.000+11:00

Next, we went to Belmore Falls. We drove down a dirt road about 5km. This road is barely described as a service road. It is quite rough and not at all maintained. We were definately in the bush. We saw a wallaby in a field! There are supposed to be wild koalas in this park and we keep a look out, but do not see any. I decided to try my hand at driving, my first time. I thought I was pretty safe--only a couple cars came the other direction. I will say, the road was very narrow so when a car did come, especially the Holden Ute, it was a bit hairy. We are cruising fairly slow and then we came to a hairpin turn by a large rock cliff. As I turn the car the road well . . . the photo above is the road. Yep, I drove across the water. Not so bad, right?
To our right is the meandering creek, that drops right off a HUGE cliff to create the falls. See where the water line stops in the center of the photo!!! That is only about 10 meters from the road. Obviously we were amazed enought to get out and record the moment.
This is our car. Every other car on the road is a SUVor some sort of outback truck. Obviously our car is not made for rough road travel.
AND here is the other side of the falls!!! Quite a drop! The first section of the falls drop to a pool of water --a good size pond. The second set drop to the river bed below. This is such a great spot and it is not really publized or is it easy to get too. We felt it was definately wonderful. We had a great day!!!!

Saturday Night Sunset

2007-12-22T20:47:00.001+11:00

We were home this Saturday evening and this is the sunset off of our front balcony. If you look to the far right over the house . . . see the horizon --that is our view of the Tasman Sea. We do have an ocean view . . . of sorts, I guess!
I took this photo from the back of our condo. The sun is still "up" on the back of the mountain. So it created dark where we are, but the buildings up on the hill were lit up by the sun. Beautiful views!

Christmas Program SFX

2007-12-19T15:44:00.000+11:00

The kids had their Christmas Program yesterday. They did a full Christmas pageant with Mary, Joseph, the inn, the sheep etc. Many holiday classics were included. Sam's class sang Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. Sam is positively thrilled to be wearing antlers with bells on them!
Kait's class sang a new one to me, "Christmas Star." It was a very pretty song about the Magi following the Star to Bethlehem. The 2nd graders were the "kings" with elaborate homemade crowns and robes made of whatever: towels, sheets, bathrobes, a few had the more "official looking costume type. They processed down the aisle and surrounded Mary and Joseph on the altar. The first year were the shepards and Kindy were the animals. It made for a very crowded, but adorable altar!!! It was all very well done. Hope you all are enjoying your preparations for Christmas!!

Stanwell Park

2007-12-16T11:52:00.000+11:00

On our way back from Symbio, we stopped at Stanwell Park. If you look in the far distance you see the third mountain--that is Wollongong. We are just about 25 k north. The view up here is amazing. There are coal mines here producing coke for the steel plant. It is so incredibly beautiful--not what you expect of a coal town. This exact area is called Bald Hill. It is famous for Lawrence Hargrave, Australia's pioneer of flight. Hang gliders take off from this point and land in Wollongong at the park near North Beach. See the village and beach below--

Now we are on the beach looking back up to Bald Hill. This beach is a carved-out cove between two large cliffs. There is a cute little village built into the valley. These modest homes have incredible views.
Kait and Sam enjoying the big waves at the beach. We had a picnic lunch on the beach and stayed a few hours. We then continued our drive home. There was an old highway built along the cliffs to Wollongong. Apparently a storm washed it out and a new Sea Bridge was built. A highway out over the sea, along the mountain edge. The pylons are sunk into the sea edge giving the appearance of suspension. There is a walk way along the highway that we hope to travel one day.